The Third Check-In

With the three men eyeing him like prey, Li Yilin's fingers twitched. He lowered his head slightly, gazed into the void below, and spoke respectfully.

"Reporting to Lord Lance: thanks to a stroke of fortune, my Gene Level improved quite a bit, and I also obtained a precious secret technique. With the amplification from my genes and the technique, I managed to hold out until you arrived."

He decided to tell the truth.

"The purple light and even the dragon's roar were both caused by the secret technique."

"A secret technique?" Disappointment flashed in Lord Guden's eyes.

If it was a secret technique, it wouldn't help purify his bloodline.

Lord Lance naturally thought the same thing, and immediately considered giving up.

Lord Luojia, however, seemed to enjoy stirring things up. He interjected, "What kind of secret technique? A Body Amplitude Secret Technique?"

Li Yilin hesitated, but ultimately chose not to hide it. He nodded slowly.

Hmm?

The three men had been somewhat disappointed, but their interest returned at once. Lord Guden stepped closer again, placed a hand on Li Yilin's shoulder, and gazed at the top of his head as he asked softly, "Young man, would you be willing to share a little about the secret technique?"

"Don't worry, I won't take advantage of you. I'll pay for it."

He still hadn't forgotten that voice. Even if there was only the slightest chance, he didn't want to miss it.

Li Yilin looked troubled. He glanced at Lord Lance and Lord Luojia, then turned to Lord Guden. "Lord Guden, it's not that I'm unwilling to share. The secret technique I obtained is just a little unusual."

"Unusual?" Lord Guden folded his arms and glanced sidelong at him. "Don't tell me it can only be cultivated by people with a certain bloodline?" Such techniques did exist. Starry Sky Behemoths and the royal families of the Monster Race, for instance... Even the Inheritance Secret Techniques of Special Lifeforms could only be cultivated by those with the soul or body of that particular race.

Li Yilin's eyes lit up. He nodded repeatedly. "You're right, Lord Guden. It has a similar requirement."

Lord Guden: ...

Lord Luojia: ...

Lord Lance: ...

"Hahaha!" Lord Luojia doubled over laughing and pointed at Lord Guden. "He's making a fool of you!"

"Heh." Lord Guden was so angry he laughed. "Kid, I've been talking to you in good faith, and you're making a fool of me?"

He grabbed Li Yilin by the collar and yanked him closer, staring into his eyes. "Do you have some special bloodline or inherited lineage that lets you find a stroke of fortune that just happens to be usable only by you?"

Li Yilin's eyes widened. He was about to explain, but Lord Guden clearly had no intention of listening. He shoved him away with a little force.

Just as Lord Guden was about to teach Li Yilin a lesson, Lord Luojia called out to stop him.

"Guden."

Guden paused and looked at him.

Lord Luojia shook the Smart Optical Computer on his arm and glanced at Li Yilin.

Lord Guden narrowed his eyes, studying Li Yilin in silence.

"Guden," Lord Lance added.

Lord Guden gave Li Yilin a long look, then glanced around. He showed no intention of claiming any of the spoils and simply said, "You'd better watch yourself!" Then he left his two friends behind and boarded the ship first.

"Guden's rather blunt. I hope you won't take it to heart. Consider this compensation." Lord Lance glanced at Lord Guden and offered a brief explanation. He tossed Li Yilin a Space Ring, then boarded the ship right after him.

Lord Luojia seemed reluctant to leave the scene. He turned and flashed to a spot farther away, collecting the gray E-Grade Spaceship into his ring. When he passed Bertin's corpse, he paused.

After a moment's thought, he couldn't resist collecting the corpse and the valuable items that had clearly spilled out of Bertin's Internal World. Only then did he seem satisfied, and he boarded the ship.

Inside the ship, Lord Guden saw that Lord Luojia had been gone for quite a while. He stuck his head out and, sure enough, spotted him collecting items. He called out irritably, "Luojia, what are you doing?"

"What's the point of collecting that junk?"

"Can't you set your sights a little higher? You'll take anything. You're embarrassing me and Lance!"

"What do you know? These are our spoils, and we're entitled to them. What's wrong with taking them?" Lord Luojia had just finished collecting the items and was about to board. Hearing that, he retorted indignantly.

"You've got money, so you don't care. I do." He pushed past Guden and boarded the ship.

"The hatch is huge, and you still had to shove past me? I'll beat you to death!" Guden glared furiously and sent a vine lashing at him.

Luojia dodged the whip with a quick sidestep. He lowered his head and looked at the spaceship lying quietly inside his World Ring, his eyes narrowing with delight. "What a great ship. It's worth a few Hunyuan Units, at least. Giving it to that kid would've been a waste."

That kid didn't look short on money.

Unlike him, who was dirt poor!

"I'm never going out with you again. I'm too embarrassed to introduce you to anyone—you're such a disgrace!" Lord Guden rolled his eyes, put away the vine, and headed for the control room.

"You only say that after you've gotten what you wanted from me. Whenever something comes up, don't you always come to Lance and me?"

"Next time, I'll go to Lance, not you."

"And then Lance will call me over anyway, right?"

Watching his two friends banter, Lord Lance remained expressionless, but his relaxed brow and faintly upturned mouth showed how good he felt.

The hatch closed, and the ship gradually accelerated. It soon entered the Dark Universe and disappeared into the distance.

"Whew—"

Looking at the now-quiet scene, Li Yilin finally relaxed a little.

He glanced around but didn't bother to pick up what remained. Instead, he took out a new spaceship.

He had three E-Grade Spaceships in total, though one had just been damaged.

The spaceship accelerated into the Dark Universe.

Only then did Li Yilin truly relax.

He looked at the System Panel, the corners of his mouth slowly lifting. At last, he couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Hahaha! Looks like heaven hasn't forsaken me!"

He had just narrowly escaped death, and the system's check-in had updated.

Two check-ins had already given him two secret techniques and a life-saving technique—Clone. Could the third check-in be any worse?

He controlled his consciousness and tapped the words "Check In." The System Panel flashed, and three golden Lucky Bags appeared once more. He tapped to claim them.

A purple orb appeared out of thin air. At its center was a drop of purple blood about the size of an eye. The moment it appeared, strange phenomena erupted, and clear dragon roars echoed throughout the control room.

[1% Thunder Dragon Bloodline ×1.]

"Thunder Dragon Bloodline?" Li Yilin's eyes lit up. Without hesitation, he controlled the blood to float toward the left side of his chest, where it merged with the original drop inside his heart.

Merging a bloodline into his body was no easy task. As soon as the drop of blood touched his skin, an excruciating pain that drilled into his bones spread through Li Yilin's entire body.

"Ugh!" The sudden, unbearable pain nearly made Li Yilin faint. The agony pierced his soul, making his muscles spasm uncontrollably and his heart pound violently, as if it would burst out of his chest. His blood surged through his body at a rapid pace.

"Ah!"

He gritted his teeth so hard that thick veins bulged from his neck, spreading all the way across his forehead. Beads of sweat soaked his body and even dripped onto the floor, splashing like tiny fountains.

"Guh—ah!"

Li Yilin threw his head back and let out a despairing growl like a trapped beast.

He could feel a scorching, domineering force surging from his heart, flooding every part of his meridians in an instant. Wherever it flowed, it felt as if countless steel needles were stabbing into every inch of his flesh. Molten lava seemed to pour from each puncture, threatening to melt him from within.

It hurt so much!

It hurt unbearably!

Sweat fell from his forehead like beads from a broken string, soaking his clothes and the metal floor. His muscles wouldn't stop spasming. Every inch of him endured indescribable torment.

"Hold on!"

Li Yilin suddenly lowered his head and curled up on the floor. Through his flesh, one could see his bones, muscles, and internal organs changing at a frantic pace.

Every time his blood flowed, it carried waves of heat through his limbs and organs. This heat was the Thunder Dragon Bloodline's power reshaping his body.

Wherever his blood flowed, his bones, muscles, and internal organs changed frantically. His cells divided and reorganized at incredible speed, and every division brought subtle changes to his Gene Level...

Once the changes were complete, his muscles would become more solid, and his bones harder and stronger!

This was a change at the Gene Level. He couldn't escape it—not even by passing out.